


Splash

by fflewddur_feanorion



Series: Splash AU [1]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swimming, Fingon Has a Crush, Gen, Pre-Slash, wow there's a tag for that!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 21:29:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28606755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fflewddur_feanorion/pseuds/fflewddur_feanorion
Summary: Sleep-deprived swimmer Fingon just wants to go home and take a nap. If only the guy on the bleachers would stop giving him advice. Actual good, useful advice. Stuff that might help Fingon win his next race.Okay, maybe he doesn't want him to stop.
Relationships: Aredhel & Fingon | Findekáno, Fingon | Findekáno & Maedhros | Maitimo, Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo
Series: Splash AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2117187
Comments: 14
Kudos: 42





	Splash

"You're turning too slow."

Fingon nearly crashed into the wall. "Since when are you giving me advice, Ari?" he snapped. "Your turns are worse than mine, and you know it."

Well. That wasn't nice. Fingon regretted the words as soon as he said them. He'd stayed up half the night doing math homework, then woken up at a completely  _ ridiculous  _ hour because his alarm clock had never really worked right. (At least, not since Turgon's demonic cat had dumped an extra-large chai latte on it.)  _ Then _ , he'd forgotten about practice, so here he was at evening lap swim. Whatever the reason, Fingon was not having a great day.

"Who's Ari?" someone said, just as Aredhel poked her head out of the water. "What? I didn't say anything."

Fingon turned around, treading water. The pool was mostly empty-- it was nine o'clock on a weeknight, after all-- but someone was watching him from the bleachers. Someone  _ really _ tall, taller than most of the basketball players. (Not that Fingon knew many basketball players.) "Do I know you?" he asked. "Sorry, I thought you were my sister."

The guy looked up, and  _ wow _ , okay, Fingon was no longer having a horrible day. "No, I don't think so. Sorry if I interrupted you. It's just that you're pretty fast, but you'd go a lot faster if you fixed your turns."

Fingon hopped out of the pool and perched on the side. (He was _not_ blushing _._ He had just finished a sprint set-- of course his face was red.) " _Pretty fast_? I'm a sprinter."

The guy nodded. "Ah. 50 fly, right?"

Fingon raised his eyebrows. "How'd you know?"

"Let's see." He leaned back. "You were practicing butterfly. Voluntarily. No one does that unless they swim it in meets. Also, you said you're a sprinter, and you don't seem like someone who would swim medley. Too much to focus on for such a short distance."

"Okay, Sherlock," said Fingon, who couldn't decide whether to be impressed or insulted. "I'm Fingon. What's your name, and how do you know so much about swimming? I'm, like, ninety percent sure you're not on the team."

"Maedhros. And you're right, I'm not on the team. I used to be, but… it's a long story."

"I like long stories," Fingon said. "Unless they're slow and boring, in which case I fall asleep. That's why I snapped at you-- I fell asleep in science class, and I was up late doing homework." Why was he still talking? Fingon shut his mouth.

"Well, maybe I'll tell you sometime." Maedhros shook his head and smiled. "I'm sorry. Are you in the middle of something?"

Fingon thought for a moment. "I  _ was _ , but I've completely forgotten it."

"Fly sets," said Aredhel. Fingon empathetically shook his head. "Oh… um… I'm doing fly sets!" Aredhel amended. "But I have  _ no  _ idea what Finno should be doing. Yep. No idea."

Fingon rolled his eyes and turned back to Maedhros. "You were saying something about turns?" 

"Oh, yeah. Hang on a sec." Maedhros pulled off his hat, and a thick fall of traffic-light red hair cascaded out. (It was beautiful, Fingon thought absentmindedly. He was like Rapunzel... but no, Rapunzel was blonde. What was that other Disney princess? Ariel?)

"Oh! I know where I've seen you before," Fingon realized. "You're on the Wall!"

'The Wall' was short for Beleriand University Wall of Fame for Exceptional Student Athletes. (The name seemed like a waste of paint to Fingon: everyone, even the coaches, called it the Wall.) Because Beleriand was an old school, there were lots of pictures on the wall-- but Fingon was certain he'd seen Maedhros there. "Wow, I'm impressed. Barely anyone gets on the Wall. You have to be a record holder, right?"

Maedhros stared at the floor. "Yeah."

Fingon drummed his fingers on the tiles. "So? What's your record?"

"The Mile."

"Really?" Fingon froze. "Oh, wow.  _ You're _ Mae Feanorion?"

Maedhros shrugged. "Yep."

"The distance legend? The one who set a record in freshman year that  _ still  _ hasn't been beaten?" Fingon grinned. "This is crazy."

Maedhros frowned. "Can you not do that?"

"What?"

"Talk about me like I'm some kind of legend. Because I'm  _ not _ ."

"Finno, time to go," said Aredhel.

Fingon jumped up. "Okay. I disagree, but okay. Do you have a pen?"

Maedhros pulled a red pen out of his hair. Fingon grabbed it and scribbled his phone number on Maedhros' hand. "There. Now you can give me more advice. And for the record, I know my turns are crap. I've been trying to fix them for  _ years. _ "

"You can't fix everything," Maedhros agreed. "But you  _ can  _ improve anything. Bye, Fingon."

"Fingon Nolofinwion! MOVE IT!" Aredhel hollered.

Fingon grabbed his bag and went to the locker room.  _ I just met a legend, _ he thought.  _ Even if he won't admit it. _

_ And I thought nothing ever happened at lap swim. _

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone throws up after they swim the Mile. This is a fact. You have to be a bit of a masochist to do this race, so naturally I gave it to Mae.


End file.
